Vol. 461 No. 8
91 Mr. N. Treacy asked the Minister for the Environment the total amount of money made available for road improvements as a result of flooding in Ireland and County Galway in both 1995 and 1996; the sources of the funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3955/96]
A special additional grant of £50,000 was made to Galway County Council in March 1995 for remedial works to roads in the Gort area which was the scene of severe flooding earlier that year. Apart from this, no specific allocation has been made to any local authority since 1991 for remedial works to non-national roads arising from flooding.
In 1995, the overall estimates provision for non-national roads was increased at budget time to allow for additional grant allocations to local authorities generally taking account, among other things, of the unsatisfactory condition of county roads which had been aggravated by bad weather. A further additional provision of £20 million was made available to local authorities in July 1995 to initiate a restoration programme for these roads.
The record provision of over £146 million for non-national roads in 1996 will enable local authorities to carry out a more extensive programme of road works than was hitherto possible, including remedial works to roads arising from flood damage.
Between 1994 and 1996 total grants for non-national roads in County Galway have increased by 35 per cent from £6.335 million to £8.563 million.
